Wandering And Feasting To Save Chef Training At Washburne

May 23, 1991|By Steven Pratt.

Like most of the students in Washburne Trade School`s Chef Training Program, Eric Span has a restaurant job on the side while he attends classes at the city`s only public, post-secondary vocational-educatio n facility.

But last week he was sauteing scallops in the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza at a $100-a-person buffet benefit for the chef school while he talked about his ambitions to open his own restaurant some day.

As 500 guests roamed by tables of tapas, pasta, seafood and dim sum, students carved turkey, pork and venison from carts in what was billed as ``A Wandering Feast.`` Guests also pored over dozens of items contributed for a silent auction.

The food, all donated, and the displays of culinary artistry were prepared by students, faculty and alumni, which has about 80 graduates a year. Most graduates start in the kitchen and many move into business and management roles, says Greg Duda, a 1971 graduate and founder of the Let Them Eat Cake bakeries.

Proceeds of the event will go toward improving the chef program at Washburne, which has been threatened with extinction by board of education cost-cutting measures.